For one boy and his friends, the path to Paradise comes at a cost—one they may not be prepared to pay.
When a biking accident leaves 17-year-old Joss Kazdan with the ability to hear things others can't, reality as he knows it begins to unravel.
A world of legends exists beyond the ordinary life he's always known, and he is transported to the same Paradise he's studying in World Mythology. But the strange gets even stranger when his new friends build a device that delivers people through the gates of the Garden of Eden.
Now Samael, the Creator God, is furious. As Samael rains down his apocalyptic devastation on the ecstasy-seeking teens, Joss and his companions must find a way to appease Samael—or the world will be destroyed forever.
MY REVIEW
I was sent this paperback book by the author, Michaels Sussman in exchange for my honest review.
Looking at te cover I immediately though Oh wow it's going to be dystopian. It's going to be an apocalypse type of story. From reading the book I would say the two figures on the cover are Joss and Alessa taking a look at the devastation all around them.
This book is not a typical dystopian book, there are lots of religious references and mythological references. The devastation is caused by angry gods. The 12 plagues are mentioned and re-enacted again within the book. I freely admit I would usually refuse to read a book with so many religious elements to it, however I found myself fascinated with this book. I quickly became attached to Joss, the bad boy who wanted to turn good. Joss's relationship with his sister is brilliant, he is almost more of a father to her than Ben is. Kathryn initally comes across as a cold hearted, resentful woman, but later you find out reasons for the possible resentment, and her attitude does change somewhat.
I initially found the book difficult, but persevered with it and ended up really quite enjoying it. I was a little disappointed with the complexities of the story, it was a little like a teacher speaking to a student at times. Then again , there were certain parts that did need and warrant some sort of explanation.
Joss has family issues, his younger brother has recently committed suicide, so naturally the family is somewhat depressed. Joss quite literally by accident discover a zen like state where he hears a sound that says/sings OM and everything changes around him. Then after an unprovoked attack he looses the OM. In the meantime he has met a rather hippy esque woman names Shakti who is developing a "device" that makes the noise OM artificially with her boyfriend Seth. Even though these devices are literally being handed out at no cost, they cause controversy. Then things begin to go wrong in the world such as unexplained snow storms, earthquakes, and the 12 plagues too.
Many religions believe the device to be abnormal and an act against God. So their theory is that God is punishing everyone because of the device.
You need to read the book to understand all the different religious element and the mythology references too.
Did I enjoy the book? On the whole Yes. Would I recommend the book? To those with patience to read a complex book yes. Would I read more by Michael Sussman? Yes I would want to give whatever he may write a go.
Available from Amazon.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment